Ever since Evolution Performance got its hands on a brand new 2013 Ford Shelby GT500, records have been shattered all over the place. This time, they brought the Grabber Blue Shelby -- the cover car of our December 2012 issue (peep the 5.0 plate) -- to the NMRA Maryland International Raceway to see what it would bring to the table. It brought the house. Driver, Nelson Whitlock, smashed the previously held 2013 GT500 quarter mile record with an 8.94 second run at 159 mph!

The Roush Stage 3 Mustang is back for 2014, and it’s better than ever. The RS3 Ford Mustang is the epitome of modern American muscle on steroids, putting its increased power to the pavement through Roush’s handling, braking, and other updates into one impressive package. Check out the video and become mesmerized by the new 2014 RS3 Mustang in action as it rolls around Detroit’s Belle Isle!

Horsepower is great, but torque is what you feel. Even with high-horsepower combinations, if the torque number is below that of horsepower, you don't get the same sensation of acceleration you would with a high-torque combo. A lot of import and even modular combinations make a lot of horsepower, but even though you get the speed, the earth-moving part is missing from the equation.

Having visited MV Performance many times over the years, we know exactly what Paul Nemoga experienced on a daily basis. On our many trips to MV, we too would make our way through the parking lot, getting ideas and wanting to bring half of the cars home with us. Fortunately, we only spent a few days at a time at MV on tech projects, but Paul worked right across the street—he had to live it everyday. He had to see and hear all those Mustangs going in and out of the shop on a daily basis.

If you are an active participant in pursuing horsepower with modern Mustangs, then you have heard of Lethal Performance. This growing concern started like most, with a wild idea, and it has prospered into a prominent force in the Mustang aftermarket. That stuff is obvious, but we rarely take the time to think about how such businesses begin.

Horse Sense: Southeastern Fox-Bodies Mustang Club (www.southeasternfoxbodies.com) was formed because of the lack of a Fox-only group and to keep later model Mustangs from taking over. Basically, the club gives Fox owners the chance to come together and organize shows, cruises, and the like.

When we first noticed Brandon Gibson's '93 hatchback at last summer's Carlisle All Ford Nationals, our first thought was that it was something of a Fox time capsule--you know, a mostly stock 5.0 LX accented with a period-correct Vortech and some Bullitt wheels. It was, in other words, old-school cool.

Scott Hoag just laughs us off when we question his tendency to build black show vehicles for his company, Mustang Racing Technologies. "But Scott," we whine like insufferable children, "black cars are so hard to photograph. They don't draw the eye's attention, so almost never make our cover."

Guess by now you've noticed that Kevin Wolbach seems to have a thing for black. Yup, even his ride's headlights, foglights, parking lights and taillight lenses are all dark smoked so as not to detract from its polished-anthracite presentation. As a photographer, I usually run screaming from black cars -- especially on mid-day photo shoots -- but the overall quality of execution on Kevin's gothic '06 GT was enough to overcome my ingrained reservations when I came across it at last summer's Carlisle Ford Nationals (and, yes, the partly cloudy weather helped).

Some things you just can’t live down. The one time where you saw a Maverick and said, “That looks pretty good.” Suddenly, everyone thinks you love every Maverick, which is not the case. Then you take out a couple Cervini’s Cobra R bumpers, no big deal, right?! No one’s going to remember that! Well, you’re wrong... way wrong.

Sal Valdez was only a teenager when he first met Joe Gosinski, and he readily admits that his first impression of the late owner of Chicane Sport Tuning wasn't a positive one. "I didn't think much of him," Sal tells us. "As I got to know him more, I actually thought he was a jerk. If you went into his shop with cheap parts, he wouldn't install them. His motto was ‘buy the best and buy it once.' But when you're 18, 19, 20 years old and don't have much money, what are you going to do?"

We hate it when someone makes too much sense. We're used to hearing frivolous conversation, so when someone suggests something that makes perfect sense, we're taken aback. That's the thing about common sense, it's not that common these days. And Mustangs don't make much sense to the utilitarian buying public. Regular folks only want a car to get from Point A to Point B. To them, cars are merely an appliance, much like a dishwasher, microwave oven, or a stove.

This '11 GT has already landed in our pages more than once, but never looking anything like this. The gorgeous Grabber Blue coupe belongs to Fred Cook, the general manager at Evolution Performance, a firm that has become known for its elapsed-time exploits in modern Mustangs and Shelbys. His GT has thus been used as a testbed for many of Evolution's Coyote powertrain research-and-development experiments--some of which Tech Editor KJ Jones has documented in past issues of 5.0&SF. More recently, however, Fred's GT volunteered for another form of prototyping by Cervini's Auto Designs. Located less than an hour down the road from Evolution's Aston, Pennsylvania, shop, Cervini's inquired if it could use Fred's coupe to develop and test-fit its recently debuted '10-'12 Stalker body kit.

When I first read over Kenny Rice's tech sheet, I thought he worked for either a performance shop or mail-order house. On the tech sheet under occupation, Kenny put, "Aftermarket Services Manager."

Lock eyes on this '13 Mustang and you instantly know it's something special. Sure the massive wheels are an instant giveaway, but the ground-hugging stance hints that there are more mods than meet the eye.

John Heermann is one of those young men you're sure to read about more than once. The Colorado farmer and sheetmetal man was just 21 years old in 2010 when attending the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Between his Ag Economics studies, he read an article in our sister mag Mustang Monthly describing the Roller Hoop rotisserie offered by Auto Kraft, in--of all places--Lincoln, Nebraska. Out of curiosity, John stopped by Auto Kraft www.autokraftnebraska.com and before you could strike a gas axe, the irrepressible metal ace and Auto Kraft proprietor Doug Kielian gave John a job. Doug is something of a Pied Piper of nascent auto-body talent. He spotted John's hard-core farm-bred work ethic and searing desire and thought he could direct it to good use. He was right.

Mustangs are often treated like family--or better. Many live a life only to be driven on nice days, and covered in a comfortable garage when not being exercised. Back in the day, we drove the wheels off Fox Mustangs, but nowadays they're getting treated better than the family pet. However, one model still getting little respect is the SN-95 Mustang. Why do you think the '94-'95s are called the red-headed stepchild of late-model Mustangs? Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Dan McConnell knows the intricacies of the SN-95 Mustang and has left no bolt unturned on his '95 Cobra.

"I need a favor," Holly Doughty said to her husband, Keith. When those few words are said by a significant other, time stands still. When a woman says those words, you know it's time to turn off the selective hearing function and pay attention. "I need a favor" isn't a part of the everyday "blah, blah, blah, how-was-work-today" exchange most couples go through blindly. "I need a favor" means you should probably mute Stuart Scott for a minute.

Though a lifelong gearhead and chronic tinkerer, Alex Ortner tells us he had no particular interest in Mustangs until a friend and associate of his--Jason Etter--purchased and started heavily modifying an S197 GT. Witnessing Jason's subsequent buildup apparently struck a chord with Mr. Ortner, a creative Detroit-area machinist, fabricator, and all-round mad scientist, whose previous work includes projects as diverse as vintage Can-Am race cars, a succession of custom Ducati motorcycles, and even a line of highly regarded attenuators for guitar amplifiers. How's that for diversity of interests?

For as long as car culture has existed, young enthusiasts have been more likely to cut their teeth with do-it- yourself exuberance than cold, hard cash. Budget restraints typically motivate the hands-on approach, with a distinct side benefit being the acquisition of pertinent skills hewn from necessity. Such is the case with Steven Black of Coquitlam, British Columbia--that's Canada, eh, for those of you who slept through world geography--just above Washington state. His first Mustang pink slip was at age 18, and now at 25 he has a few more under his belt--and the commensurate experience that comes with it.

Ever had a burst of creativity? An idea flashes across your consciousness. You know it could work. You dream of bringing it to market. Then you let it slip away and fall back into your daily life. That's the difference between an entrepreneur and a worker bee. We fall into the latter category, but Ken Bjonnes, Jon Lund, and Jake Long definitely embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. Jon and Ken have been in the tuning game for quite a while, and had recently joined forces in Lund Racing (www.lundracing.com) Ken now operates the South Florida arm of that company, using the Power By the Hour dyno for in-person tuning.

It's a well-known axiom in the automotive hobby that a car is never done, yet Brian Day is fully satisfied with his sweet '93 GT. It hasn't come quickly for this Boeing 777 assembly mechanic, but in the end, we suspect that makes completion of the job more satisfying. Fortunately the airplane biz has been pretty good, and Brian funded his addiction to speed by working long extra hours to justify the expenditures. Of course, spreading the load over time helps tremendously, and Brian has been more or less non-stop tweaking his steed since purchasing it in 1998 with just over 36,000 miles.